


Blinded In Chains

by violetshade



Series: Blinded In Chains [1]
Category: Avenged Sevenfold
Genre: F/M, Shadows' demons, Tied Up Avenged Sevenfold, can't stay away from each other, make me feel better, partying with A7X gets crazy, too excited at a dance club
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-13 01:35:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12972837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetshade/pseuds/violetshade
Summary: Avenged Sevenfold hits it off immediately with their new producers, Violet and Raven-so well that they pull of a media hype stunt that's a little weird. Shadows doesn't know how to handle himself around the dark, sexy Violet Shade since he's got his own issues to work through. She might just be exactly what he needs, though.





	Blinded In Chains

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first chapter in a story I'm writing about A7X circa 2015, even though I write them more like they were City of Evil/white album. This chapter's longer than all the following ones, just so I could include the first smutty goodness. For the storyline, I did take 'God Hates Us' off of the "Nightmare" album and used it for the one they make in the story. I started writing Violet's character before I knew much about Valary, but it turns out they have some stuff in common-think more like when she had dark hair and was screaming on stage.

On the other side of that wall was one of the best metal bands to ever exist. Avenged Sevenfold had always gotten her attention, whether she always liked their stuff or not. As their career had reached sixteen years they had grown into mature, complex, beautifully tragic musicians. When it became public knowledge that they weren't happy with their label, she and her partner had gone through ridiculous lengths via their friends and contacts in the industry that her label might be interested--without making it sound like they were running after them. After many different 'have my people call your people' situations, rumor milling, etcetera, they agreed to meet and on a Monday morning sat in her partner's office.

Violet's partner, Raven, had been hired at the same time at Winged Victory Records seven years ago and they had risen through the ranks together. Raven was extremely good looking--much like she was--but liked men as much as she did, so they worked well together. He was the one that had gone with her to an A7X concert six months earlier. They had gone backstage to network and try and find any leads on if the band was actually unhappy and why. Rumor had it the lead singer, M. Shadows, had been screwing the wrong woman somehow connected to their label and pissed off a lot of people. She'd never forget the lead singer turning around and locking those gorgeous green eyes with hers from across the room. She had stared confidently back, but when he started walking her way, the Duo bolted as part of their mysterious conquest.

Raven kissed her cheek, "Lets go get some hot rock star action," His wicked smile reminded her that he also thought Shadows (as well as pretty much all of them) was a hot piece of ass. This wasn't what made her nervous, of course--signing a band like them would be the defining point in their career...but his good looks and metalcore swagger did put her defenses up. He was intimidating...but so was she.

Watching people's reaction to them was often the Duo's favorite part of the job, and the band's reaction when they walked through the door was no different. Both attractive, he was butcher than guys in their genre tended to be and she was a shocking image of black hair, pale skin and tattoos. He was 6 foot and she was pushing 5'4". As people always did, Shadows shook Raven's hand first, nodding to him and then turning to her. His face broke into his heart melting smile, all dimples and sparkly green eyes.

"Violet," She shook his hand but stayed professional, not letting his machismo phase her.

"Nice to meet you, Violet."

She smiled as she could feel the rest of the guys in the band roll their eyes at him. Eventually everyone had shaken hands and they all sat down. Or rather, the band sat down and the Duo leaned up against the large desk in the room. Everyone was dressed slightly more business than usual, but still all dark colors and pretty much every person in the room wore black eyeliner. Shadows wore long sleeves, which never happened, that were rolled up to his elbows-his tattoos spilling out from underneath. The overlying vest helped show off the ridiculous V shape of his body. Other than Zacky Vengeance's bow tie, they were all business casual--or at least as much as metalcore bands got. Violet always wore purple and today was no exception, from the streaks in her black hair to her purple shirt under the black collared one. Her high black pumps had purple heels.

"Here's your contract, boys," She handed them all black folders with their logo emblazoned on the front, "Simple 5 albums. I think you'll be happy with the splits. Minimum one year tours with each one." Shadows looked at her a little long before opening the folder to look at its contents.

Raven continued, "You have until Friday. You're welcome to tour our facilities as many times as you want during that time. We'll show you around, but any time you'd like to come back just see the front desk," He put out his hand to show them the door as Violet led them out.

As soon as Violet turned away from them, Shadows took his time looking her up and down, biting at his pierced lip. When he turned to give his lead guitarist a look, Synyster just rolled his eyes, "Dude, seriously," and patted his shoulder. Shadows still couldn't help but gaze at her perfectly formed curves as she sauntered in front of him.

"Full cafe, next to a full bar," Violet walked them down a hallway and nodded towards what was an over-stocked bar. The band began to whisper to one another-obviously impressed. The studio was on the 24th floor, which Raven and Violet at the same time opened the double doors to. Silence filled the room, for a moment, before the band became like kids in a candy store--picking up and playing with everything.

Shadows saw the opportunity to show off and took it. He looked at Synyster, "Rain?" He had warmed up his voice that morning, just in case he needed it. The rest nodded. He knew it showed off his voice the best, and was heartbreakingly beautiful. Violet and Raven helped them turn on everything and closed the doors, before going into the booth.

The Duo didn't know what they were going to play until the guitar tore into the first heart wrenching licks of "Acid Rain." Violet sucked in a breath: it was one of her favorites. It then occurred to her that it was probably a typical favorite among chicks. Dammit, she thought, he's showing off. She looked at Raven, shaking her head.

Shadows sat on a stool, facing the band--

"Our day has come, It's drawn in the sky So don't shed a tear now, Be thankful for the time, Life wouldn't be so precious dear if there never was an end..."

Watching him sing up close took her breath away. He got so into his singing, which is why he made such a great frontman. The way his long fingers always gripped the microphone in one hand and caressed it with the other...

"Fuck, he's amazing," Raven jarred her back to reality after his voice had sailed into and out of the chorus that had proved his range was still the best in their genre. She just nodded, closing her eyes and letting the music wash over her.

When they were done, the band grouped together, pushing one another around and laughing. The Duo left them alone for a few minutes.

"Think it worked?" Zacky Vengeance laughed at the band leader.

"What?" Shadows shrugged innocently and blushed.

"C'Mon, M., you were showin' off. Don't get us wrong, we all know she's hot, but you can't have her." Synyster set the guitar down, "We can't do this again. Just get your dick some other pussy, and he'll be fine."

Shadows looked down at the floor, hands pulling down on his neck, "I know."

They all teased him, ball tapping him or grabbing his ass, or shoving his chest as they walked past him. Violet led everyone on the rest of the tour. As they walked, Shadows was in the back, trying to ignore her but failing miserably.

Raven leaned over to M. and whispered, "She's married, by the way." Weeks prior, the Duo had agreed that it would be best if she wore a fake wedding ring. They'd figure it out eventually, but it might make the beginning less stressful.

Shadows laughed, "No, she's not. That ring isn't in  _any_  of her pictures," His smile was wickedly guilty. Raven raised both eyebrows, knowing he had just admitted to not only internet stalking her, but already noticing the ring she wore in the present. Violet might be in for more than she bargained for, Raven wondered.

As the tour went on, they all made small talk and the chemistry formed easily. The band all noticed the Duo was unlike anyone else they'd had to deal with before. They weren't all business--they actually loved what they did because it was making music. Shadows looked at his watch, "It's noon. You mind if we have a drink?" He pointed towards the bar as they all walked that way.

Before anyone else could get behind the bar, M. jumped over it and started making his own guys' drinks. His litheness at his six foot one was impressive. Then he looked at the Duo, not asking the question, just raising his eyebrows.

"Dewar's," answered Violet.

"Maker's," answered Raven.

Shadows gave her a look, one brow cocked in surprise.

_Fuck, she drinks Scotch?_

"C'mon, bartender," She slapped the bar in mocked impatience, flirting. He raised his hands and continued. After everyone had drinks and was drinking, he poured another Makers, tipping the glass to his lips until it was gone. Then he poured another, letting that one breathe as he carried it over to the leather couches where everyone else sat.

Raven took advantage of the more laid back atmosphere, taking a sip before he began, "We'd like to know why you weren't satisfied at your last label, of course, so we know if we'll be able to meet your needs or not." Raven leaned back into the couch, looking directly at all of them, as Shadows leaned back, his arm across Zacky's shoulders.

Synyster scoffed, "Well that's easy enough to tell you," He continued despite the warning glance he got from Shadows, "M. was screwing one of the interns, whose dad-it turns out-is some higher up in Warner Bros. and, of course, found out."

Shadows hung his head in his hands, leaning his elbows on his knees, "Syn, fuck you, man," He stood up, "I gotta piss." He messed up Synyster's hair on his way past, to make it seem like he wasn't actually mad, "I'm gonna fuckin kill you, dude!" he muttered as he walked down the hall.

Gates got up to find some glass to fix his hair in, "You'll have to excuse our fearless leader. He's become a little bit of an alcoholic since Jimmy died. We all have our own ways of dealing with it, and alcohol is his. We can't tell you the whole story, but that's what got him into the mess with Envy."

"Envy?!" The Duo each said her name at the same time, not believing that was actually her name.

"Yeah, so after that, Warner knew they couldn't afford to lose us, so the dad just took it upon himself to make it was so awkward we would leave, since he had been told he couldn't tell anyone."

Zacky chimed in, "We also wanted to find a label that knew us a little better. Warner is a huge company, and they don't really seem to invest in us. We just need more license to do what we want." They all nodded in agreement.

"But you guys probably already knew that story about Shadows, and just wanted to see if it was true?" Synyster took another draw on his single malt Scotch.

"Yeah," Violet sat back.

 

Shadows paced in the bathroom, ready to explode. He was angry at Synyster for cock blocking him, but knew it was his own fault. What he had done haunted him because he lost his own self control and it had almost cost him not just his own career but the whole band's. And there he was again, going after not an intern, but a fucking producer. It was an astronomically bad idea, but he could tell he wasn't going to get her out of his head anytime soon. They had just met, but there was something about her...

 

When M. walked back into the bar, he motioned the guys that it was time to go. He couldn't help but meet Violet's gaze, a regretful look in his eyes. They shook hands and saw them to the elevator. As the doors closed, Shadows' darkened eyes met hers as he gave her a cocky smirk.

As soon as the doors closed, M. turned to Synyster, "Duuuude! What the fuck!" He got in his face as the others tried to hold him back. "We can't do this here, M! They are watching us!" Shadows calmed down, but only until they crawled into their limo.

"They already knew, man. She's not stupid, she knows how it is--the stuff we've all done."

Shadows just stared out the window, still embarrassed Violet had to hear that.

 

It was 6:15 a.m. when Violet showed up at work to work out. She went most mornings, but this morning she had some extra stuff to work out. Her dreams had been of Shadows (as they had been on and off for months, and maybe years)--his singing, his arms around her, those fangs of his biting into her flesh...but as she rounded the corner, she could see she wasn't alone. There he was, earphones in and pumping some serious iron.

She stared for a few moments at those beautiful, tattooed arms before running down to security on the 10th floor. Their security staff was an integral part of everything they did. There were cameras everywhere, which they used to get to know anything and everything about their clientele, and the staff was a huge part of that. The only place in the entire building that there wasn't a camera was inside the Bedroom.

"How long has he been here, Tony?" Violet burst into the huge monitor room.

"Morning, Vi. About an hour. He's obviously running from some demons, but it's also not the worst I've seen."

She stayed and watched him for a minute before leaving to get something to eat at the cafe.

Violet was trying to get several different things out of the fridge at the same time, and turned around to set an armload on the counter.

"Good morning." Shadows stood there, shirtless, looking at her with that dimpled grin on his face. She jumped, spilling a few things, and stood there, hand over heart, trying to breathe as she took in his shirtlessness, "Good morning."

He walked over to help her gather things off the floor. The light was somewhat dim, and she couldn't help but drag her eyes over his inked chest and abs, down to the two lines that disappeared into his low hung gym shorts. And everyone knew what hid in those...

When she cleared her throat, he put his shirt back on, which just clung to him as his whole body glistened with sweat.

"Violet, I'm trying, but you're not making this easy." He stood over her, way too close-closing the refrigerator so it was even darker. The electricity popped between them.

She tried to breathe, "I'm not? Are you kidding?" She just looked him up and down as if to say 'exhibit A'.

He tried to play it cool, "Not wearing the ring anymore, I see," He walked to the other side of the island, knowing that if he stayed there next to her he would kiss her and then wind up taking her right there on the counter, "Am I that much of a threat?"

Vi fought to keep control, "Yes." She could give him this one. M. found a chair, "So tell me, what's your favorite?" He found that he could find out loads of information by asking which of their songs were someone's favorite.

Violet almost rolled her eyes at his ego, "Of your songs? A favorite is tough...but Strength of the World is one of the most interesting that I don't think gets enough credit. Critical Acclaim is a good one because it pisses people off. St. James makes me cry. Little Piece of Heaven is the most fucked up, awesome thing I've ever heard recorded. To End the Rapture is one of my favorites of Synyster's." She didn't want to be the one stroking his ego, but wanted to prove she knew everything they'd ever done.

He was taken aback, no one picked that first one. Girls usually told him "Acid Rain," or "Bat Country," and guys almost always picked, "Hail to the King." He was impressed that she knew anything from their very first album. "Why that first one?"

"Lyrically, it tells a captivating story and melodically it's diverse, complex, and fucking awesome." She began to make a protein shake as he watched her carefully. When she finished making the shake, she put it in front of him. "You need this. Here."

"Thanks." He was surprised, but starving, so he immediately tried it, "This is good."

"You're welcome," She smiled as the awkward silence took over, "M., don't think that you have to make excuses for what you did. I know that you have women throwing themselves at you, I get it. May I remind you it's my job to be around and understand rock stars."

"Violet," He shook his head, blushing hard, "I'm not...I mean, thanks for your understanding but...that...situation...isn't what it looks like. I promise." He looked down at his hands before looking up at her, suddenly becoming serious, "Just know that I'm embarrassed that I lost control. And that same loss of control, is what I feel when I'm around you...She took advantage of a situation she shouldn't have, but I let her."

Just as he was wondering if he had given up too much, they heard footsteps in the hallway.

His two guitarists turned the corner.

"I can't leave you alone for the one second," Zacky Vengeance quickly strolled up to him, "We apologize, Vi-"

"What?! I was working out!" Shadows tried to fight them off as Violet laughed.

As Zacky escorted him away, Synyster stayed behind. "Did he try anything?"

"No."

"I do apologize, Violet. It will get easier."

 

Friday came and Violet thought she would be sick. She'd worked late hours and worked out a ton, but hadn't seen Shadows since that early Tuesday morning. She and Raven had had many conversations, private and not, as well as meetings, endless decision market groups, polls, etc, until they were all down to their last ounces of energy. The Duo decided at 10 pm Thursday that everyone should go home and get a full night's rest before what was hopefully one of the best days in the label's history. They had even planned out a huge party upstairs in case they said yes.

Friday at 10 am was when they were supposed to come in and give their final decision. She had been there, sleeping on and off, checking her hair and makeup, trying to organize everything, since 6 am. At 9:56 am, the call came from downstairs that they were on their way. This time when they walked in, they weren't dressed business, but full on Avenged Sevenfold. All swagger and shades and tattoos. They all shook hands again and the band sat down except for Synyster who handed the Duo one of the folders the band had been given Monday.

"The only change we made was 8 month tours, but you knew that. As long as you are okay with that, there's our signatures." With that, they all started hugging and back slapping one another, everyone equally excited. Shadows nervously looked down at Violet, his mouth playing with this lip ring.

"Party's at 7 on the top floor, boys...until then...?"

"Oh we're going to the studio, like, right now. We haven't been able to record in over two years," Shadows excitedly rushed out the door with the others in tow.

As the duo, along with a few of the execs, watched in the booth, the band got comfortable and began messing around. One would draw on the dry erase board, one would start playing licks on a guitar, one would sit at the piano, one would sit down with a pen and paper. The Duo had never seen that kind of creative intensity at such a high efficiency before. Just when the Duo was about to leave, Shadows stuck his head in, "Where's a good place to be alone around here?"

Raven scratched his bearded face, "There's the Bedroom and a lounge area two floors up. No one will be there this time of day." Shadows nodded and turned to Violet, stepping into the room. He looked down at her, touching her chin with his thumb, "Don't come find me, I won't let you leave." And with a flash of a smile, he left for the lounge--stopping by the bar on the way.

Chills went straight up her spine.

 

*** It had been almost two years since they had been at a party on the other side of the country, celebrating the release of their latest album, Hail to the King, about to go on tour a month later. The band was finally getting their shit back together and working with the same drummer since their last album. Synyster had tried to keep an eye on Shadows so he didn't drink too much, but at a good party that was tough. A cute young thing got his attention, so he found Shadows talking to another cute young thing.

"You okay, man? I'll be back later."

Shadows smiled, already a little drunk, and nodded, checking out his arm candy, "Nice."

Just a couple of minutes later, Zacky pulled M. aside, "Matt, that is not a girl you should mess around with. Her father is one of the executives. Do not fuck her, dude."

That made M. sober up quickly, "Thanks, man." He was used to dodging women, so he found an excuse and got away from the black and neon green haired vixen that had been hanging on his every word for about twenty minutes. Having dodged a bullet that he realized he maybe should've seen coming, he slowed down drinking. At the end of two beers two hours later, though, he realized he had been drugged. She caught him in a hallway before he could go throw up. She called herself Envy. He called her evil. Her hands were all over him, including his rock hard erection that appeared out of nowhere and refused to go away. The party was in a hotel, so she dragged him to her room and threw him on the bed, climbing on top.

"Envy, you gotta stop," He grabbed her hands and held them behind her as he sat up with her in his lap.

"I get what I want, baby, just sit back and enjoy it," She kissed him as he tried desperately to stop her.

He didn't remember much else, just waking up in the room after she had left, with a hangover that killed. He could tell she hadn't used protection and feared the worst. First he threw up so he'd feel better and get everything out of his system faster. Then he checked his cell, which was off. When he turned it on, he found tons of messages from his band mates looking for him. He called Synyster first. "M., where the fuck are you? You okay?"

What was he supposed to say, that he had been raped?

"Yeah, man...just got way too wasted last night...can you have Rocky come get me?"

A week later, Envy found him in the studio alone, playing piano and drinking. When she walked in, he tried not to react. His green eyes flashed hate at her, his body tensed up, but he just sat and looked at her, "What the fuck are you doing here?" He laced his voice with as much hate as he could without actually standing up and strangling her.

"C'mon, M., I was just having fun. You can't blame a girl for wanting to get a piece of that legendary horse--"

"Wrong." He stood up and looked menacingly down at her, "What you did was unforgivable," His eyes flickered with pain and his deep voice cracked, "You. Raped. Me."

She tried to put a hand on his chest and he flicked it away. She pouted, "I wish I could say, for your sake, that I've had enough of you," Envy coyly looked up at him.

"What the fuck do you mean by that, slut?" He was clueless.

She began walking around the piano, "Last week was just to get you on the hook. It's simple. You fuck me whenever I want and I don't tell my father about last week. I don't tell the press that you raped me. You can tell them whatever you want, but they'll never believe you."

He backed her up against the wall, jaw clenched and blood pumping, "You need it that bad?" When she grinned wickedly, he shoved her towards the piano, leaning her over the bench, "Fine."

Shadows lifted up her skirt, shoved on a condom that he always kept in his pocket, and angrily fucked her until he was done. She enjoyed it way too much. When it was over, she waved goodbye and he gave her the finger. He hated himself. What the fuck was wrong with him that he could just do that-get hard for the woman who raped him???

That night the guys kept asking him what was up, but he just kept drinking and telling them nothing. Ten more times it went on like that. She'd call him and they'd meet somewhere. He always brought the little blue pill but never had to use it. No matter how hard he fucked her, she just laughed and came. Several times he took her back door-forcefully-and she liked that even more. He'd slap her around and she liked that, too. And he liked doing it to her.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" He would ask her all the time, knowing he asked the same of himself. She would just call him out on it, "Hey, you're getting off, too. What does that say?"

A few weeks in he asked her while getting dressed, "You had your period yet?"

"Last week. Why?"

"You didn't use protection when you raped me. I'm not stupid, I know you did that on purpose." She just shrugged like it was no big deal. At least she wasn't pregnant, he thought.

One night the band confronted him. The bassist, Johnny Christ, took his bottle away early enough in the evening before he was drunk, "Matt, you gotta tell us what's going on. Is it the Rev?" M. gave him a pissed off look, "No." As he looked around at his brothers, though, he knew they were just looking out for him, "I am so fucked, guys."

He had had it...he put his head in his hands and cried. His broad shoulders shook as he let it all out. The others got closer, wanting him to know they were there for him.

Zacky handed him some tissues, "Matt, this isn't like you. What happened?"

M. took a deep breath, wiping away his eyeliner, "That night I said I got way too wasted?" They nodded, "I lied. That intern I wasn't supposed to sleep with? She drugged me with Viagra and a rufy. I don't remember most of it. Now she blackmails me and I have to keep fucking her or she'll tell her dad or the press or both."

They were all open mouthed flabbergasted. Johnny stood up, pissed, "Tell them what, that she raped you?!?" M. closed his eyes, hating to hear the word out loud, "She knows she could tell the press _I_  had raped  _her_. She knows I can't say anything-I can't tell the world I--..." Now he was pacing the room, angry and frustrated and itching for a drink.

Synyster tried to calm him down, "Buddy, sit down, talk to us-"

"I fucking like it!!!" He screamed as the others jumped.

Silence.

"What?" Zacky gave him a weird look before he could think better of it.

"Not when she...raped me, of course, but when she blackmailed me I just wanted to punish her and that's what I guess I think I'm doing?!" His face said he knew how much that didn't make sense.

"With your dick?" Johnny couldn't hold it in.

"It's not funny! I can get it up for her because I hate her so much! When we fuck it's like getting out all the hate and the pain. What is wrong with me?!?!" With that he turned around and put his fist through the wall. As he stood there, chest heaving and hand bloody, his brothers carefully walked up to him, putting their arms around him, letting him cry on their shoulders.

One day after they had left on tour, the band got word that somehow, Envy's dad had found out anyway. Shadows felt terrible. Their manager at the time was pissed. Unfortunately, Shadows' hands were still tied. He couldn't let the world know he'd been raped. The label told the father he had to suck it up and couldn't tell anyone, but he had enough leverage to intermittently make their lives on tour a living hell. Shadows buried himself in booze and sometimes women, when he got desperate. He didn't trust himself and how having sex again might make him feel. Even after a few times over the next 9 month tour, he still had huge doubts about it. By the time tour was over, he drank slightly less and knew he shouldn't fuck around with anyone for awhile. ***

 

No one saw Shadows for hours, but at 3 p.m., he stormed back in the room. He threw down the pad of paper, which was now pages of scribbles and art and lyrics. Synyster looked through the pages and back up at him. "No one will ever know it's about her but us. I am so pumped!" He ran around the room, jumping on the furniture.

"It's so angry," Zacky took a page, "I like it." He picked up a guitar and busted out a basic riff. Synyster pointed, "Fuck yeah, like that in between the verses, and you could draw out these phrases like...."

It went on like this and by 7 they had a rough draft of a song.

 

Raven hung out with her as she got ready in her office, helping her pick out what she wore. "Rave, why do you want to do this to him? It's kinda mean."

"Look, even if you guys can't hook up, it doesn't mean you can't have a little fun. Ya know, enjoy the view. Oh, I know! That torn up mini skirt...and your see through black shirt with the purple bra under." She raised an eyebrow, but liked his idea. "And those," He pointed to the high heeled, lace up boots that she already wore. He curled her hair for her, as she did her own makeup. By the end, she was a walking death bat goddess-dark purple and black accentuated her curves and showed plenty of cleavage. To be fair, this was how she usually dressed for big parties.

 

By 7:15, Violet was ready to go look for them, wondering where they were. She was about to call them, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Violet, I need you to--" Shadows let out a low whistle when she turned around, totally forgetting what he was going to say. He smiled and took off his aviators that he was wearing inside for some reason like he tended to do, "Baby, you look...fuckin' hot," He put a hand on the wall beside her and stared into her violet eyes, rimmed in black and more purple. It made them pop and held his attention.

Just then, Synyster pulled him away from her, "Do we need to get a spray bottle for you?" He turned to Violet, "Can you distract people while we set up?"

"You guys are playing?"

"Yeah, we just wrote a song."

She couldn't believe it, "No, we'll have somebody set up for you. You guys hang out in here and come out when I announce you, okay?" They were all smiling like school children. "Get us drinks?" Shadows whispered as he walked by. Raven had showed up and gotten the gist as she was talking, "I'll get their stuff, you get them alcohol." He patted her on the ass, pushing her towards the bar. He was so bad.

She showed up with all their favorite drinks, impressing everyone with her memory (she learned day one to always know what a rock star drank). As she was about to leave, Johnny Christ grabbed her hand, "C'mon, one drink with us?" When she turned back to look at Shadows, his green eyes-outlined in black smudged eyeliner-were holding hers from over the rim of the glass tipped to his heavenly lips. She sat down against her better judgement, but left a few of the guys between her and the guy undressing her with his eyes.

"So what am I about to hear out there?"

"M. wrote most of this today. We just figured out the rest." Zacky raised a glass before drinking it. The way Violet leaned back into the couch with her legs crossed made Shadows itch deep inside.

"Shads clearly had some pretty dark stuff to get off that chest the girls like so much," Synyster laughed as M. punched him in the arm, "Hey, as long as you don't put it through a wall again," He opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue at Shadows who took the bait and pounced on him.

Just then Raven popped his head in, "C'mon, Shade, let's announce our newest conquest!" They all cheered as Violet left and the band drank.

"We are proud to announce the newest members of the Winged Victory family-Avenged Sevenfold!!!" Raven amped up the small crowd of a few hundred people as the band took the stage. Shadows took the mic and put on his aviators, "We thought we would say thank you by letting you hear our newest song. We wrote it today, so it's not perfect yet, but it is.....God Hates Us."

And with that, the band threw down and M. screamed. "You wanna hear my side? You need to drown to know. When all the times it hurt me to fuck you, I built a wall with your blood to show-"

The song dripped with the usual angst of the band, but with a little extra anger and hate. Violet listened to the lyrics, and as she often did with their songs, wondered what he had been through to write such things. With the one "hurt me to fuck you" line, though, she guessed it had something to do with the intern. When it was over, Shadows just said thank you to an unrelenting crowd that he immediately stepped into to high five and shake hands, the rest of the band doing the same.

As the DJ started, Violet pretended not to watch him while she networked the room.

Synyster walked up to her with an extra drink, "I do think he put a lot of the shit he's got going on into that song. When he came into the room after he wrote it--I haven't seen that guy in a long time. I was really worried about him, we all have been. I'm sure he's still working through it, but he's better than he was."

"So...what happened?" She wasn't sure if she was supposed to ask or not.

"He'll tell you...in his own time," He put a hand on her waist and kissed her cheek, "Glad this worked out. Should be fun."

After she watched him walk away, she saw out of the corner of her eye that Shadows was talking to the D.J. Violet swallowed hard.

As the first notes to "Tonight the World Dies," hit her ears and made her skin crawl, he sauntered over to her, putting out his hand. Fortunately, most of the crowd was drunk by then, so it didn't cause a scene. Her heart beat in her throat as she put her fingers in his. They reached the middle of the crowd and he pulled her to him, enveloping her small hand in his huge one as his other hand held her firmly to his body. Her other hand slid up his back, stopping between his shoulder blades.

"I'm kinda hoping this is one of your favorites." He tried to make his hand that held her behave. She clung to his broad shoulders, "Anyone who's ever had a tragic love loves this song..." She made him meet her gaze so he would know how serious she was, "You really do have an incredible voice."

"Thank you," Shadows leaned closer to her ear, "So...tragic love, huh?" His voice was somewhat light, but still baiting her...but he wasn't ready for the look deep in her eyes when she slowly looked up at him. He swallowed hard as he realized he really shouldn't have gone there. They both knew she meant it could be him-could be them if they kept driving down this road. He broke her gaze so he could slowly dip her backwards, a move she wasn't expecting, but pulled off like she was born to do it. When her face was back up to looking up into his, he grabbed a handful of her hair and leaned into her ear, "I don't have the self control for this, Vi. I'm sorry. I want you so much it hurts. Forgive me."

With that he held her face in his hands and brought her lips to his. Their lips met in a hungry kiss, worthy of the ages. His tongue met hers, hers giving in and giving hungrily back. When he pulled away, she sighed and leaned her head on his chest as he rested his chin on her and held her head, playing with her long black curls as they swayed to the heart wrenching guitar riffs and haunt of his soaring voice. The rest of the band stood next to Raven, watching the couple have their moment.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Brooks murmured to Zacky.

"No. They stopped themselves. We just make sure they don't leave together," Raven folded his arms across his chest.

As the music faded, she looked up at him again as he held her face in his hands. Both were completely silent. Shadows kissed her forehead and led her off the floor to the others.

"Okay. We're done." He put up his hands defensively, letting them know he knew his new boundaries.

 

That night neither of them got much sleep. They were haunted by sex crazed dreams after going to bed early the next morning. When he woke up, he snuck off to the studio to write and clear his head. When she woke up, she went to their gym to clear her head. She walked in to hear the piano floating down the hallway and forced herself to turn the other way and go to the gym. It didn't take him long to start pouring his feelings for her onto paper, but after a verse and a chorus he had to stop to not let his emotions get the better of him. Despite it being 11 a.m., he headed for the bar to take a break.

When he turned the corner, he spotted her in the kitchen next to the bar. He grabbed a bottle and headed her way.

"I think if we force ourselves to hang out like normal adults, it might eventually make it slightly easier...Violet," He sat down and poured himself a drink.

She thought for a second, "Okay." She tried to think of normal, safe conversation, "What are doing in there so early on a Saturday?"

Shadows emptied the glass and looked down into it, "Writing about you." So much for safe conversation.

Violet swallowed nervously, shook her head, and closed the refrigerator--turning around to give him a look as she sat across from him.

"I'm sorry. I'm not good at this..." He laughed at himself, taking off his hat and running his hands through his hair that was getting a little long, "When I really need to write, it's gotta be then-no matter what time of day it is. And being alone here, with a piano, makes it a lot easier." The sun was rising high over NYC outside the big glass windows.

"How do you drink like that, and still have a body that makes me want to be smothered in bat wings?" She referred to the tattoo splayed across his abs of their logo.

The corner of his gorgeous mouth curved up, "When I'm on tour it's easy. I do weights when I'm bored on the bus, but the calories get burned during shows...it'll start to catch up to me. Off tour I have to work out a lot, but I work out anyway--when I'm angry, when I'm sad, when I'm happy, when I'm bored. My body is one of the few things I'm in complete control of, or so I used to think." He took another sip, thinking about his rapist while she thought he meant her, "...so what are you doing tonight?" He tried to make it not sound like he was asking her out.

She took a long draw on her water, and then drank the rest of his drink, "Lots of networking outings tonight. Basically showing off that we got the best band in town," She smiled, "You?"

"Just hangin' out with the guys I guess...video games...maybe some music," He shrugged.

Violet narrowed her eyes in thought, "Ya know, if you guys are up for it, we could take all of you out with us. One of the clubs we were going to go to is only A listers. Dance club." Shadows took another swig, knowing this was a possibly a bad idea but also knew he had to get used to being around her, "Okay...what time do people go out these days?"

"Ten."

He shook his head, "I do miss being able to go out anywhere I wanted, getting trashed and not caring what the fuck happened."

"Now you have to go through the trouble of doing that at VIP clubs, I know, life is tough," She sarcastically smirked at him.

He narrowed his eyes at her, "Here I am, tryin' to open up to you and shit...fucking Christ..." He poured another round and scooted the glass her way, his eyes gleaming as they both got buzzed. She saw her opportunity, "So...the song...God Hates Us...???"

He swallowed a sip of whiskey, shaking his finger at her, "Nope. Definitely not ready to tell you that yet."

"And Rev, do you talk about him yet?" She took another taste.

He looked down into his glass and then out into the morning sun, "Yeah...he was my best friend. It's hard to relate to anything in life without him."

"He was an incredible drummer. I met him once-he was so sweet. Unfortunately, that's all I'll ever know."

"You would love him, everyone did. He was such a dork," His face broke out into a smile, "He was the one that kept us all laughing, broke the ice when it needed to be broken..."

She knew it was time to change the subject, "Can I hear what you have so far?" She was feeling bold.

He paused and raised his eyes, suddenly a little guarded again, "No." He stood up, "But I should get back to it." He walked around the table to her, "I'm glad I got to see you." M. moved a strand of hair away from her face and kissed the top of her head, "See you tonight, Violet."

And with a wink he walked away, taking the bottle with him. She watched his tall frame saunter down the hallway, sexy as ever.

 

Violet was sleeping it off when her phone rang. "Violet? It's Syn. Are you with Shads? We went to the studio and couldn't find him."

"No, he's not with me. How much of the building did you check?" Then she realized they didn't really know where to look yet, "Hang on, I'll be right there." Violet looked at herself in the mirror and almost jumped. I guess that's what she gets for drinking in the morning, she thought. She washed her face and put her hair back, then ran the few blocks to the studio. The band was waiting in the lobby. "Did you check the Bedroom?"

"The what? Why would he be in there?" Synyster gave her a look.

Violet knew she kind of deserved the look, though, when she continued. "We started drinking at 11."

"We???"

"Don't worry, nothing happened," They all got on the elevator, "I was here working out, he was here writing. We had a couple of drinks and he went back to writing." They all gave her looks that said they didn't believe her. She just shrugged as the door dinged. When she opened the door to the Bedroom, there he was, sprawled on the bed, bottle in hand-empty.

Violet walked over to him and lightly slapped his face, "M!!" Shadows opened his eyes and smiled groggily-clearly very drunk-wrapping his arms around her and throwing her on the bed with him, "I knew you'd find me...c'mere sexy..." The guys all at once jumped in to stop him.

"Buddy, come on, we're going back to the apartment, okay?" They picked him up and got him to the elevator as she followed.

"Just wait till you see what I wrote you, baby..." M. muttered. They all just rolled their eyes.

As they stuffed him in their own limo, Vi stopped Syn, "We're going out tonight. Pick you up at 10." He just nodded.

 

Shadows slept until 6 and woke up fairly disoriented. Synyster sat next to him, pretty serious, "Vi says you were drinking together. Anything happen?" M. sat up in bed, wincing, "Dude, I have no idea..." He fell back on the bed, hands covering his face, "I was writing, this morning...we were at the cafe...drinking...then I..." He sat up suddenly, "No, nothing happened. She left and I finished the song. Then I drank because of how sad it was."

Syn was relieved. He slapped Shadows on the back and sat beside him, "I know this must really suck for you, Shads. I've been really impressed with how you've done so far, but we're going out with her tonight. She's gonna look good and you two will probably dance and flirt and shit. But the second you can't handle it you gotta let me know, k?" M. nodded. He then got some coffee and tried to piece together the song he had just written, about a girl he couldn't have. Then, around 8, he called her with an idea.

 

The club was packed and had an intense death metal crowd for NYC. The group hung out backstage, alive with adrenaline. Violet had been more than a little apprehensive about M.'s idea, but the more she thought about it the more it worked. Shadows looked down at her, grinning, as she clamped a large metal cuff around his neck. He growled at her when she checked it. All the others wore matching cuffs, attached to long chains that she controlled. Zacky had given her his pouty lipped smirk when she put his on. Violet stood there in leather boots, leather mini skirt, and leather vest with a purple undershirt...and a whip. Shadows tugged at his restraints, pretty sure he had just made one of his oldest fantasies come to life. His chest heaved as he watched her strut around. They all gave her approving looks, knowing how much their fans were going to love this.

Synyster rolled his eyes, "This is so hot!"

Soon, they had been announced, and Violet tugged on their chains. She dragged them, struggling, on stage and grabbed the mike, "Here after I whipped them into shape, ladies and gentlemen, to perform their newest single, Avenged Sevenfold!!!" Violet screamed and threw the chains in the air. At the same moment, every band member broke out of their restraints in a huge display of bondage. A moment later, they were sailing into "God Hates Us."

The crowd ate it up and went crazy. Violet watched in awe from side stage. Despite how many times she had been impressed by their new songs, she still couldn't believe how good this one was. Watching him perform in all his sleeveless, guyliner glory awoke a truly relentless animal in her...

Backstage, M. ripped his neck cuff off and slammed it into the ground. This was followed by screaming and chest bumping and high fives and rock star horns. Violet snuck out to let them have their moment.

She strutted around the club, dancing and drinking and networking, knowing everyone knew she was the one who had brought A7X to heel. She couldn't believe how sexy it had been, being in control of him, having him chained up before her. Raven found her and they went on the floor to dance, drinks in hand. Just when she was grinding closer to Raven, she felt Shadows come up behind her, grinding to the music and trapping her between the two husky, strong men. When she leaned back on his shoulder and revealed her neck to him, he flashed his fangs and pretended to sink them into her, putting on quite a show. She could feel his prominent canines press firmly against her neck as her loins caught fire. He eased up and continued to kiss her neck and nip at her earlobes. He grunted in her ear to let her know she was having the same effect on him. They both fought to stay in control. When the music changed, she swung around to face him, grinding her hips dangerously up against his.

"Oooh, baby, you're begging for it," He whispered in her ear.

"Well this is all we get, so I figure we might as well make the most of it."

He admitted she had a point, and held onto her hips as they made him rock hard for her. She felt him harden against her and smiled wickedly. Her heart felt like it would explode as her pulse quickened. His head fell back with his evil laughter that showed off his fangs. Then his eyes grabbed hers, "He likes you." His smile mesmerized her as he moved up against her. She ground harder as he gasped. "Don't stop," He whispered into her ear.

She tried to breathe...was she getting him off? Violet held his gaze and could see the build up in his eyes. Suddenly she second guessed herself and slowed down, breaking his focus.

"Vi, please, baby, I need you," He pulled her back in, hips grinding hard up against his shaft. Their eyes met in an unbreakable moment. When he realized she was going to stay, knowing what she was doing, he couldn't hold back. His eyes intensified, his jaw clenched, and he let out a low guttural moan as she could feel his come between them through his jeans. He held onto her until he was done, but then quickly stood up, trying to shake it off. "C'mon," He patted her on the ass, "We should go," He laughed at himself-knowing he couldn't take what just happened too seriously.

They ran like a couple of teenagers to the limo, hand in hand, as the rest of the band and Raven followed. Once inside, M. collapsed against the seats in the aftermath, head back and a smile on his face. As the others climbed in, they eventually all saw what had happened.

After a short awkward silence, Synyster started laughing, followed by everyone else. "Vi-damn! You guys were just dancing!"

All she could do was laugh and smile at Shadows. They all continued to laugh hysterically, Johnny even fell on the floor.

"You guys can laugh all you want, but that was fucking incredible," He kissed her cheek, "Thank you."

She just cocked an eyebrow at him, drinking from the bottle someone had opened, as his green eyes sparkled. Zacky took a drink from the bottle as they passed it around, "I say we walk into another club, chained up like you had us before. Crowds eat that shit up."

They all agreed as M. and Violet looked at one another. She sighed, hyping herself up for another round of sexually dominating him, but not being able to have him, and nodded, "Oh, fine."

Syn pointed at Shadows, "C'Mon, man, get changed."

M. pulled down a seat that opened to the trunk, where apparently they kept all sorts of random crap, including extra jeans...and boxers. As he began stripping, Synyster held Violet's head against his shoulder, "C'mere, babe, you don't need to see this."

They sent an intern back into the club to grab their cuffs and chains and headed for NYC's biggest goth club. Raven called ahead and made sure they got their own VIP section and when the manager on the other end realized he wasn't kidding around, he insisted on literally rolling out the red carpet for the heavy metal band. By the time they rolled up, cameras were already flashing and bouncers held people behind the ropes. Raven got out first so he could open the door for her. Violet stepped confidently out of the limo, chains in hand and whip in the other. As each one got out, they pretended to resist. When they were all out, she tugged hard--leading them into the club with dark, confident looks on their faces. Fans screamed and the d.j. played "Beast and the Harlot." They high fived their way through the crowd and eventually went up a winding staircase to their VIP room, which was really just a platform hanging in the air with a fence around it. Champagne popped and women danced. The guys danced with random girls, wrapping their chains around them and letting them play with their cuffs. Raven danced with women and men. Shadows pretty much only danced with her, though.

He leaned into her ear, dimples showing, "I promise I won't come on you this time." They both laughed as she almost spit out her champagne. Many women came up behind him to try and steal a dance. He would let them for a few moments before removing their hands from his chest. For hours the champagne flowed and they moved to the music. Eventually, the interns and bodyguards could tell they'd had enough to drink and led them back to their limo as the crowd raged...

 

Sunday morning, Violet woke up at around 11 face first in a pillow with a slight hangover. The first thing she realized was she was in a strange room. The second was that Shadows lay next to her, on his back and facing the other way. For a moment she just laid there, taking him in, staring at his chest as it slowly moved up and down and his face outlined by the sun coming in the window. Since all their clothes were still on, she assumed nothing further had happened that shouldn't have.

Zacky stuck his head in the doorway, "Morning, sleepy. Hungry?" She nodded. This made M. slowly wake up and turn her way, a lazy smile spreading on his face, "Hey." She looked back with one eye open, "Hi."

He stood up and walked to a suitcase overflowing with clothes, pulling his shirt off over his head as he went. She sat up and stared as he pulled another shirt over his rippling muscles before throwing one at her, "I'm sure you don't wanna walk home in that."

The white Iron Maiden shirt was a little big on her, of course, but she took it into his bathroom to put on after taking off some of her other clothes. When she joined the others, they gave her a look. "You alright, boss?" Zacky handed her some sort of hangover cure.

"What? I'm not your boss..." She forced herself to drink it.

"Last night you were!" Syn couldn't help himself as everyone else high fived or fist bumped him.

She raised her eyebrow at him and gave a cocky smile, "Yeah I was."

Just then Raven entered the room, yawning and stretching. Violet hugged him good morning, "I wasn't sure you'd be here. I vaguely remember you hitting it off with somebody...right?" She looked around the room. They all nodded.

Raven flicked her in the nose, "I just got his number, nosy. Didn't wanna wake up in a strange bed like you did!" He shoved M. playfully as he walked by, who shoved him back.

Shadows snuck a look at her when he thought no one else would notice. He couldn't help but look her up and down, totally hot in his t-shirt, her skirt from the previous night barely peeking out from underneath. As she drank her concoction, she caught him and checked him out the same way back.

From his tablet that sat on the kitchen counter, Johnny Christ held a hand over his mouth and pointed, "Dude! Check it out!" On the screen was an epic picture of all of them, as they came onstage from the first venue. It was plastered all over the home page of Entertainment Tonight. The caption read, "Winged Victory Chains Up Avenged Sevenfold."

"The newest score by the hot producing duo from the heavy metal label, Winged Victory, is A7X. Known as Raven and Violet, the Duo signed the group Friday and went out celebrating last night in a dominating display of ownership. Led on the stage in chains by the sexy Violet, introduced by Raven, the heavy metal group sang their newest single, "God Hates Us" to an adoring crowd. Radio stations have been clamoring to find a recording with no official word from the studio. Several celebrities, including Katy Perry and Billie Joe Armstrong, say they saw lead singer M. Shadows dancing provocatively with Violet and Raven. Another onlooker claimed, "he was biting her like a vampire." Without a word from the studio yet, no one knows if it was an act-going along with the band's name, reputation, and bat wing logo-or if there is something between the two. Many said if it was an act, it was extremely convincing. After leaving the first club, the group showed up at Dragon's Blood, a goth club in Manhattan. Violet led the band into the club once again as the dominatrix before hanging out in their VIP spot for a couple of hours. Not to be left out of the spotlight, Raven was spotted by a few fans making out with Josh Hargrove, an up and coming model for Calvin Klein, about 10 years Raven's junior. More on this story tomorrow, along with a video of their new single."

Everyone celebrated since getting press was their goal, good or bad. Violet smirked at Raven, "Did you know?"

Raven sat back in his chair and put his hands behind his head, clearly satisfied with himself, "No idea."

As they searched, the group found similar articles on many different sights. Death metal fans were already going crazy for the new song and the bondage. Women went crazy for the guys in chains as men went crazy for Violet and her whip.

"Way to go, baby, you're a sensation," M. stood behind her as they all stared at the tablet screen.

"Well thank you, but we're all a sensation. It was your idea in the first place, and Zacky's idea to go to the second club. You guys did a great job-the singing, the staging, the acting...man that was fun..." Her thoughts wandered back to the night of S&M fantasy.

Raven stood up, stretching, "Would it be too early to lay that track tomorrow?" Everyone was surprised--it seemed too early--but the band looked at each other and shrugged, "Probably not."

"Thanks for a wonderful night, boys, but we have to be going," Raven corralled Violet and soon they were headed out the door. Shadows wanted to see her to the limo, but decided to give her a longing look goodbye instead.

 

The next morning everyone was fresh faced and ready to go. By 8:30 they were all there, the band tinkering around with their new song. Shadows sat in the corner by himself, tweaking his other new song, not sure when he'd be ready to sing the words to other humans. Busy dealing with the press, the Duo was in their offices, which were attached by their own door. Violet told everyone that no, there was nothing going on between her and Shadows, that it was an act. A sexy as hell act, but still an act. They both cooed about how well they all got along and that they just liked to party together, so they did. When Rolling Stone called, though, Violet had to sit down.

The band looked up when Violet and Raven came running through the door. "Boys, Rolling Stone wants you...and us."

"They want to interview all of us," Violet crossed her arms, happy with herself.

Raven stopped her, "Vi is being nice. They want to interview her and Shadows. She made them include the rest of us."

Shadows walked forward from the corner silently. Suddenly, he was nervous. If he was interviewed, the whole world would know he was lying about his feelings for her and he couldn't afford to look that pathetic. He was M. fucking Shadows.

Synyster spoke up first, "Look, we appreciate you trying to include us, but we're all pretty happy where we are. I've been in Rolling Stone already, and I don't want to be again if I'm just going to look like a tag along, and I'm sure the rest would agree. I've seen those interviews--the ones that are really about one person, but they try and make it about everyone. Ours wasn't like that, but this one would be. You guys should go do this yourselves, please don't ask us to go."

Violet's attitude changed to the more serious tone equal to Syn's, "Are you sure?" They all nodded.

Shadows asked quietly, "When?"

"They said their issue is going out in two weeks so they needed to do it asap. Wednesday at 9 a.m.," Violet could see the concern in his face and butterflies began in her stomach.

Shadows shook his head, handed her the papers in his hand, and walked out. Bewildered looks were exchanged between everyone else in the room. As they all gathered around Violet to read what was on the paper, Raven scooped her outside and shooed her down the hall, "Go find him." He knew not everyone should read whatever was on those pages yet.

 

Violet walked to the end of the hall and sank to the floor as she read the words that tore at her insides. The words were about tragic loss, love, torture, hope, regret, and second chances. She could tell it wasn't all about her, but his journey over the last several years after the loss of their drummer and best friend combined with whatever happened with the intern, finding another chance but not being able to take it...about finally climbing out of the darkness only to fall back in again. About what might be.

She cried. As much as she really had no idea what to say to him, she made herself get up and find him. Eventually she found him in the bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed with a bottle in his hand. She softly, nervously, locked the door.

He heard her come in, "You really shouldn't be here."

"M..." Her voice cracked as she sat next to him, "This is beautiful." She knew the word didn't do it justice, but it's all she could say. Violet scooted closer to him and took the bottle away, setting it on the nightstand. He didn't look at her. She played with the hair at his neck sticking out from under his backwards hat, "I don't pretend to know what you're going through, M., I just want you to know I'm here."

He sniffed, his voice hoarse with raw emotion, "I know. That's why I wrote the song-so you'd know." He squeezed his eyes shut as a few more tears came out. Violet just sat next to him, giving him time to decide what he wanted to tell her.

"There's nothing I need to say about you that's not in that song. I can't tell you, but I could sing it to you. It doesn't hide anything, that's why I drank so much when I was done writing it. The only part you don't know is the part that's not about you," He knew he needed to tell her but wasn't looking forward to it. It was so uncomfortable, being so vulnerable in front of this woman he had just met but had so many feelings for. Still not able to look at her, he put a hand on her knee and she laced her fingers through his.

"About two years ago, we were at a party, celebrating the release of Hail to the King," He cleared his throat, "This...vixen got my attention and started flirting. Zacky pulled me aside and told me who she was, so I left her alone. I even told myself to ease up on the alcohol so I could stay sharp. By the time I realized what she had done, it was too late." Violet searched his face, wondering what on earth this bitch did to him. "I had been rufied and drugged with Viagra...I tried to stop her from dragging me to her hotel room..."

Violet put a hand over her mouth when she realized where this was going. "I remember telling her to stop, but I blacked out and don't remember the rest..." He shut his eyes tight, really not wanting to admit it, "She raped me, Violet."

She cupped his face with her hand and kissed him on the forehead and cheek, "Shads..." She knew saying 'I'm sorry' would be borderline insulting, so she had no idea what else to say. He grabbed her hand in his again, looking at her for the first time since she had walked in,"I wish that's where the story ended." She wanted to cry when she saw the look in his hurt hazel eyes.

"A week later she found me to blackmail me into having sex with her basically whenever she wanted..." He thought he could look at her for the next part, but broke away, putting his head in his hands as he leaned his elbows on his knees, "She made me fuck her for weeks...and the worst part was..." He was so tired of thinking about it, "...I liked it." He couldn't keep the floodgates closed anymore. His shoulders wracked with sobs as she held him.

"Why?" Her voice was surprisingly judgement free. He stood up, black tears staining his cheeks, "I wanted to kill her for taking my control away. You know what that does to you as a man!? But I couldn't kill her, so I wanted to punish her. Punish her over and over...didn't matter that she liked it, I guess I thought I was punishing her somehow anyway, that maybe if I controlled how I fucked her it would somehow put me back in control. I hated myself for being able to get it up for her. I hate her. That's what's God Hates Us is about. If there was any god, he wouldn't create a thing that enjoys what we did." He just stood there, looking at her, strong shoulders sagging.

She slowly stood up and stepped closer to him until she was up against him, looking up into his reddened green eyes. Shadows brushed away a strand of her hair and held her cheek in his strong hand, suddenly calming down, "I wondered for a long time if sex was ruined for me for good...I already had enough trust issues with girls...if pain and hate is what I would associate it with forever..." A smile ghosted his face, "And then we walked into your office...you showed me I could have those feelings, healthy feelings, for someone again...You saved me, Violet." He ran a thumb across her lips, also stained with tears. She realized the song he had written her wasn't professing his love for her, but professing his lust for her--his lust that he thought he might never feel again. It came as a relief.

Violet gently put her arms around his neck, searching his hurting green eyes. There was nothing to say, so she brought his lips to hers, parting them so their tongues met--finally giving into temptation. He wrapped his strong arms around her, their kiss deepening. Violet threw his hat to the ground and he laid her down on the bed. His insistent hands on her sent electric currents through her body.

"Is this really happening?" M.'s dimples sparkled as he smiled over her.

"I think it's time," Her smile matched his. Shadows stood up to take off his shirt, letting her watch and bite her lip before he unzipped his jeans and stripped down to his boxers. Then...he took those off. She blushed and inhaled quickly. What he was famous for had not been an exaggeration.

The smirk on his face told her that was one of his favorite moments. Violet stared back at him--finally looking him in the eyes again--unclasping her bra. When she threw it aside, he rolled his eyes in super macho fashion, having waited way too long to see her amazing tits. He yanked her jeans off and they climbed in under the silky sheets. His hands expertly peeled off her panties before his fingers found her. She moaned as he covered her mouth with his.

"M.-" Shadows smiled down at her while his fingers did the magic, "I think at this point you can call me by my name." She smiled briefly before moaning again. He found her G spot and went to town. "C'mon, baby, I owe you one," He grinned at her as she convulsed in his arms. When she was done, he seductively licked his fingers as she tried to catch her breath.

He found a condom and rolled it on. "I feel like I've waited years for you, Vi," M. hovered over her, "My body aches for you," He couldn't get enough of drowning in her violet eyes.

"I'm all yours, Matt." Shadows found her and slid inside her until he was almost shaking with relief. They both sucked in a breath as the wash of endorphins hit. M. started slow knowing they weren't used to one another. This might be the only time he ever got to be with her so he wanted it to last.

Violet had been with lots of guys, but she was pretty sure she'd never had to handle anything like this. She struggled in shock.

"Breathe, baby," He kissed her and caressed her cheek softly as he could tell she was overwhelmed. His green eyes flashed as she got lost in them. It wasn't long after he started moving inside her that she came again.

"Matt...fuck..." She arched her back which displayed her breasts for him. He took one nipple in his mouth as his hand supported her while she lost herself. He bared his fangs as he lengthened his stroke, trying to deal with how good she felt around him. He couldn't believe she was finally in his arms-he'd had so many dreams, so many fantasies about this moment just in the short time since she'd appeared in his life. Her moaning underneath him was even better than he could've imagined.

"Don't stop, baby--" She whispered.

"I don't plan to," He growled deeply. Shadows swung her around so he was sitting up with her in his lap. The look on her face said she was impressed by his prowess. He buried his head in her chest when she began slowly riding him, "Christ, Vi--" She turned his face up so she could kiss him as she sped up. His lip ring teased her swollen lips. He moaned into her mouth as his arms flexed around her. Her fingers ran through his hair and right before she came, she grabbed what little she could and pulled.

Shadows fought to not finish when she did it, "Fuck, Violet!" He smiled wickedly at her, "Don't make me get out those handcuffs." She smiled wickedly back as he pushed her under him again and pounded into her. When she finished again, he slowed down and settled above her, kissing her deeply, "I want to stay inside you forever, baby, but I can't--I can't hold on," He whispered in her ear. "Let go, baby, I need you-" She met his eyes as he got closer, driving in and out of her. His eyes squeezed shut and he bared his fangs-like he did when he sang-and groaned as he came inside her.

Shadows desperately wanted to hold onto the few moments they had left. He wanted to thank her for so many things, but all he could do was just look down at her beautiful face--smiling and relaxed with her after sex glow. Finally he left her and gathered her into his chest, kissing her forehead. Before they could find any words to say to one another, there was suddenly yelling and pounding fists on the locked door.

He grinned, "You locked the door?" She just nodded, biting her lip.

"We know you're in there, you two." Raven banged on the door, "Make up time's over."

"You're too late, guys!!" Shadows yelled at the door. He pulled on his boxers and walked towards the door, wanting to show off in all their glory, despite Violet trying to stop him. She pulled up the sheets as he opened the door wide open, "Gentlemen, can I help you?" His cocky smile said it all.

Mouths open, they all looked from him to behind him, where she sat up in bed covering what was a clearly naked her, "Hi, boys."

They all rolled their eyes, exasperated, "Great," Synyster threw up his hands, "You guys got it outta your system?! Jesus..." But as they closed the door, they were all kinda proud of their band leader, clearly getting over some of the issues they knew he had.

As much as he was dying to crawl back in bed with her, he pulled on his jeans and threw her clothes on the bed--checking her out when the sheets came down to reveal her breasts. She did the same as he put on a shirt. Once dressed, they sat on the bed next to one another. "You okay with doing this interview?" She asked seriously. He nodded, "What are we going to tell them? We're friends?"

"Yep," She laughed with him, knowing how ridiculous it was and would sound in an interview, "We could admit to being attracted to each other, I guess, but that we're comfortable being just friends because we don't want to complicate our business relationship."

"That's what it is now, right?" He swallowed hard, not wanting to admit that they had to go back to the way it was. After looking up into his questioning eyes, she nodded nervously, "You okay?" He looked down at his hands, "Yeah, Violet...you've helped me work through more than you could possibly know." He gave her one last lingering, close-mouthed kiss before standing up and offering his hand, "C'mon. We got work to do."


End file.
